Stella
by Maria14
Summary: “Hey Luke? Yeah. Stella got out again.” A Two Parter
1. Part One

**Stella **

**Disclaimer: I don't own this. If you think that, you are definitely on crack.**

**Summary: Why had she called him? There would billions of other people she could have called before him. L/L**

**AN: So, I've had this written forever and I figured I might as well post it. No time like the present, right?**

**So, enjoy… and if I get enough reviews I might consider making this a two parter.

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Why had she called him? There were billions of other people she could have called, before him. There were billions of people she should have called, before him. Sookie and Jackson were together, but they would have come to help her out, and she knew that. She could have called Miss Pattie, she does raise chickens after all. She could have called Rory, she wouldn't have been _that _mad. She could have called Andrew, he did live around the corner.

She could have called anyone in that whole, stupid, little town and they would have come running. So, why did she call _him_?

She kept telling herself that it was only because she had just been with him. They had been picking out paint samples… The paint samples for the diner that she had suggested needed a paint job. The diner, which she agreed to help paint.

And she was pretty sure they almost kissed. Right? If Taylor and the rest of the town hadn't come knocking on the door, they probably would have. Right? And then, when everyone left and she turned back to look at him, she froze when she realized how close he was to her, and she freaked out and left. Because she didn't want to kiss him, right? Yeah, it was Luke. She wasn't supposed to kiss Luke.

So… She didn't want to kiss him, and she left the diner. But then, she called him, even though she could have called anyone. Why? Why did she call him?

Did she want to kiss him? No, this was Luke. She didn't kiss Luke. But, why not? Why couldn't she kiss Luke? He was probably a good kisser. Why couldn't she kiss him.

_Because if you dated and broke up, we'd never be able to eat at the diner again_.

Rory's words echoed through her mind. But who said anything about dating? And who said anything about breaking up? All she wanted to do was to kiss him.

Wait, she wanted to kiss him? She wanted to kiss Luke?

She wanted to kiss Luke.

Oh God.

No. She didn't want to kiss Luke. If she wanted to kiss him, then why did she freak out when he was so close to her? Why did she leave? Why did she go home just as he was about to lean in and close that remaining space between them? Why did she jump up and grab her coat, just as he was about to kiss her?

Because she was scared

She was scared because she could feel his breathe on her neck and it was made her stomach flutter. She was scared because he smelt so good. She was scared because of the way he was looking at her. She was scared because she really wanted to kiss him.

Sure, she had wanted to kiss a guy before. She had wanted to kiss lots of guys. But, something was completely different about wanting to kiss Luke. Maybe because she knew that if she kissed him, he wouldn't let her run away scared, like most guys would.

If she kissed Luke, that would be it. Their friendship would completely vanish and they would either be more than just friends, or they would be nothing.

So, would it be worth it? Would kissing him be worth it if it ended up ruining their entire relationship? She could end up having a really great kiss with Luke, or she could end up breaking up their great friendship, and also forcing her and Rory to eat elsewhere and possibly starve to death. Plus, the leaky faucet may never get fixed.

But, she wanted to kiss Luke. She really, really did.

But, why? It's just Luke. Luke. Luke. Luke.

She had seen him everyday for years, and suddenly she wants to kiss him? Why hadn't she noticed him before?

She had noticed him before. But why didn't she make a move? Why didn't she kiss him?

Because she was scared

So, when will she get over her fear? Will she ever get over her fear? Should she just face her fears and do it? Forget about the consequences and just kiss him?

No.

She can't do that.

She can't just kiss him.

There are consequences. There are too many consequences. And they wouldn't just affect her, they'd affect her kid, and her faucet.

If she kissed Luke, she couldn't just kiss Luke. She had to want more. She had to want a relationship. She had to want a serious relationship… with Luke. She couldn't just go over and kiss him only because she felt like it. She had to want something with him. She had to want something that was worth the possibility of losing his friendship all together.

So, did she want that? Did she want a relationship with Luke? Did she even like Luke?

Of course she did. She liked Luke. Even her mother knew she liked Luke.

But did she like him enough? Did she like him enough to possibly ruin their entire relationship?

Yes.

She sighed, and looked over at Stella who was sitting happily in her cage. She sunk into the couch, and looked over at the phone, who was for once, not lost.

After a little hesitation, she reached for it and found herself dialing the numbers.

"Luke's."

"Luke?"

"Lorelai?"

"Hey, Stella got out again."

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**Well, there you go. It was just a little something I wrote one night. It's been written for a while, and I figured I might as well post it.**

**If I get enough reviews, I might consider making this a two-parter… but only if I get enough reviews, so tell me what you think!**

**Wohooo...**

**So, yes, please review.**

**You know you want to.**


	2. Part Two

**Stella **

**Disclaimer: I don't own this. If you think that, you are definitely on crack.**

**Summary: Why had she called him? There would billions of other people she could have called before him. L/L**

**AN: Alright, so I actually wrote this chapter like two weeks ago… but it got deleted by accident, and it took me awhile to re-write it. I'm sorry, but I hope this was worth the wait. Enjoy!

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The second she hung up the phone, the panic started to come.

Jeez, what had she done?

Luke was coming over. He was coming over to help her look for Stella, who wasn't actually missing.

Was she supposed to let Stella out, so they actually had to find her?

But, what if they didn't catch her. Rory wouldn't be too happy about that. She would fail the project, and she might not get into Harvard… all because she trying to get with Luke.

Oh God, she was trying to get with Luke.

Why didn't that sound more wrong?

She sighed, and got a look at the clock. She had about 10 minutes. He said he was closing up when she called, and he'd be over in 15 minutes. She glanced over at Stella in the cage.

What had she done?

She had no idea what she was supposed to do. She had no idea what was happening, or what was going to happen.

What if actually didn't feel the same way?

But he had to, right? Everybody said that he did.

But they were in _her_ house. Jeez, she really should have thought this through more.

Maybe she should call Sookie and asked how she did this. She said something about a bat, right? But it was different, wasn't it? She and Jackson were together. They had… before. They had kissed before. They had gone out before. They were together.

This was so different.

But this was Luke.

She wasn't supposed to be afraid of Luke. Luke was her friend. For now, anyway.

No, we already thought about that. This is a good thing. This is a very good thing. She liked Luke. She really liked Luke. She wasn't him to come over, didn't she?

Of course.

She wanted this. She wanted Luke.

She wanted Luke.

Why doesn't that sound wrong?

She glanced over at the clock again. 7 minutes until he'd be there.

God, she needed to change, didn't she?

She jumped off the couch, and ran up the steps, going two at a time. She was in the bathroom before she could say… anything.

She washed her face, and applied her make-up. She even put on her favorite, best smelling, shiniest lip gloss. He liked pineapple, right? Of course, it's fruit. Luke likes fruit.

She went into her bedroom, and almost had a heart attack. What should she wear?

Oh God.

She really wished that Rory or Sookie, or anyone was there to help her. But Rory was over Babette's with Lane, and Sookie was either at the Inn, or with Jackson. Plus she only had 5 minutes.

5 minutes.

God.

She dug through her closet until she found a cute green top. She decided she should keep the jeans. She didn't want to be too obvious. Especially if Luke wasn't too into her plan.

But he would be, wouldn't he?

God, she wished she knew.

She wished she knew anything.

She went back into the bathroom and double-checked her make up and hair.

Hot stuff, she thought.

She went downstairs and got another glimpse of Stella in her cage. Now, what to do, what to do. She decided to let Stella out. But she made sure to close all windows, and doors first. Just to be safe. She wasn't about to ruin Rory's education.

Plus, she could always run by the pet store and pick up another Stella.

They wouldn't notice, would they?

She let Stella out, and watched as she flew around the room. Before she had a chance to do anything else, the doorbell rang.

She took a deep breathe and answered it.

"Hey." She said, calmly.

"Where was the last place you saw her?" He asked, racing in the door, and walking past her.

She stood there, with the door still opened and watched as he went in the living room. She took another deep breath and shut the front door.

"I saw her near the couch." She made up, as she went into the family room "I think she needs a bigger cage or something. That bird is crazy." She said, feeling stupid afterwards. God, she really should have planned this out better.

"Why'd you open the cage in the first place?" He asked, lifting up the couch.

"Um… Well, I had to feed her." She replied.

"You don't have to open the whole cage to feed her, Lorelai." Luke said, putting the couch back down.

"Now you tell me." She said, smiling.

"Oh, there she is!" Luke yelled, when he saw the tiny bird running towards the chair.

Lorelai watched nervously, as Luke chased the tiny bird around her house. She was so nervous. She felt like millions of butterflies were having a break dancing contest in her stomach.

"I got her!" Luke yelled.

Lorelai stood up. "That was fast." She said, not quite loud enough for Luke to hear. She went into the kitchen and saw Luke putting Stella back into her cage.

"Now, don't open it anymore… never. Got it?" Luke asked.

"Yes sir." Lorelai said, nodding.

"OK, so I better get going." Luke said, starting towards the door.

Crap. He wasn't supposed to leave. Why hadn't she thought this through?

"Wait." She said.

He turned around and gave her a questioning look.

She could feel her face getting red, but she didn't care. "Do you wanna stay… I don't know, hang out?" She asked. "Rory is at Babette's tonight, and I don't like being alone." She added in.

He shrugged. "Sure."

She smiled. "Want a beer?" She asked.

"OK." He said, following her into the kitchen. She got two beers from the kitchen, and handed one of them to him. She opened her own, and led him into the family room. They sat down on the couch, a little closer than they normally would.

Luke eyed her knee, and how close they were to his own, then he looked up at her, and returned the smile she was giving him. They each took a sip of their beer.

"So… how are you?" She asked, having no idea what else to say.

"Good." He said.

She nodded.

"So how long does Rory have to keep that bird?" Luke asked.

"Um, I don't know. The weekend, I guess." Lorelai said, nervously.

"You, OK?" Luke asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Lorelai replied. God, why did he have to look so good tonight? Who else can look so good in a flannel shirt and jeans? Only Luke.

She started to drift off as she stared at the tiny curls coming out from under his hat. His hair looked really soft. She had this weird urge to touch it, but she contained herself.

"Lorelai?" Luke asked.

"Um, yeah?" She asked, hoping he didn't know what she had been doing.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

Crap.

"I was uh… I was just- I don't know, I was just looking at your hair." She said.

"What?" He asked.

"You have nice hair, Luke." She said. She wanted to slap herself afterwards. God, he must think she's an idiot.

"Uh, thanks?"

"Your welcome." She said, praying that her face wasn't too red.

Why was this so hard? Just kiss him. It's just Luke, just kiss him. But that was thing, it was Luke. It was beautiful, wonderful, coffee-making, best guy ever, Luke. What if he didn't want to kiss her? What if the entire town was wrong?

But what about yesterday? What about when he didn't think that there was really a chick missing?

"Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"What _did_ you mean yesterday?"

"When?" He asked. Oh God, this again? Why can't he just freaking admit it?

"You know… when you said that you didn't really think there was a chick in the house?"

"Lorelai." He groaned.

"I just don't get it." She said.

"Why do you care so much?" He asked.

"I- I just wanna know." She said.

"Well, I don't know… I just said it. I mean, not many people have chicks just running around their houses. I was just… surprised." He said.

"Well, why else would I have called you?" She asked.

"I don't know." He shrugged, trying to play cool, but Lorelai could see he was getting a little nervous.

So, did this mean that Sookie had been right? Did this mean the town was right? Did this mean that Luke liked Lorelai?

It had to mean those things, didn't it?

She could go to Rory and they could make a nice, pro/con list together. She could lie in bed and analyze this for hours. She could talk to Sookie about it and get another opinion. She could ask him so more questions, and try to get more information.

But she didn't.

She just leaned in and pressed her lips against his, before she even knew what she was doing. She was about to pull away when she felt Luke kissing her back. She scooted closer to him, and he put his hand on her waist, pulling her on his lap. She put her legs on either side of him, and knocked on his hat. She ran her fingers through his hair, and surprisingly it was even softer than she thought.

"Lorelai." She heard him say, as they caught their breathe for a moment, but she just continued to kiss him, sliding her hand up his chest.

She could feel his fingers playing with the bottom of her shirt, and she moved closer to him, so their stomachs were touching, and he slid his hand farther up the back of her shirt.

Just as she began unbuttoning his shirt, they heard the front door open, and she jumped off of him.

"Mom?" They heard Rory call from the hall.

"Hi." Lorelai said, as she caught her breathe. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to get some CDs." Rory said. "Hi Luke?" Rory said, with a questioning expression.

"Oh hey Rory, I just came to uh- to uh." He began.

"Stella got out." Lorelai said. "Luke helped me find her."

"Stella got out?" Rory asked, as she ran into the kitchen to check on her chick.

Lorelai turned to Luke, and smiled.

"So I better get going." He said, beginning to stand up.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yeah." He nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow." He told her.

"Yeah, bye."

"Bye."

She watched him walk out the door, and then fixed her hair a little, just in case. She stood up, and noticed Luke's hat on the ground.

She'd give it to him tomorrow.

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She took a deep breath before opening the diner door. This would be OK, wouldn't it? She couldn't help but be a little nervous. There were billions of thoughts running through her mind. What if he changed his mind? What if he decided he didn't want to start anything with her? What if he realized how bad of an idea this was?

She shook her head, trying to push the thoughts out her head. She opened the door, and spotted him behind the counter.

"Hey." He said, looking up for only a second.

"Hi." She replied. "Here, you forgot your hat last night." She said, handing it to him.

"Thanks." He said, looking up at her now.

"No problem." She said, holding his gaze and smiling. "So… um thanks for helping me catch Stella last night."

"No problem." He said. "You think she'll get out again tonight?" He asked her.

She sat down at the counter, and smiled. "Yeah, I think she might."

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**So, there we go.**

**Again, I'm really sorry about the long wait. **

**Who's excited for the episode tonight? I am. I'm wicked excited. Only 4 more hours to go for me.**

**Anyways,**

**Please review. I will be forever grateful.**


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